"Portrait of Fashion Designer Peggy Hoyt in Art Nouveau Hat" Lot no. 3531
By Charles Sheldon (American, 1889 - 1960)
September 1922 (Estimated)
14.00" x 17.00;" Framed 30.00" x 36.00"
Charcoal, Griselle, and Pencil
Signed Lower Right
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Gravure Full Page in Woman's Home Companion Magazine
A wonderful and very detailed full page art supplement for the September 1922 issue of the Woman's Home Companion.
Charles Sheldon's exquisitely detailed portrait of fashion designer Peggy Hoyt was featured in the September 1922 art supplement of Woman's Home Companion. Hoyt models a striking Art Nouveau hat from her autumn millinery collection: a close-fitting turban crafted from opulent satin, its severity artfully softened by delicate, glycerined ostrich feathers. Sheldon employed multiple photographic studies of Hoyt to achieve the nuanced rendering of this elegant portrait.
Peggy Hoyt, born Mary Alice Stephens, began her fashion career at seventeen as an apprentice in a Fifth Avenue millinery shop and would go on to become a highly successful fashion designer whose creations rivaled the elegance of Parisian couture. By 1910, with a modest $300 loan from her mother, Hoyt established her own millinery boutique on Fifth Avenue, a hub of luxury retail, and by 1915, Peggy Hoyt, Inc. was a thriving enterprise. She ultimately relocated her growing business to the elegant Phillip Rhinelander mansion at 16 East 55th Street in Manhattan in the late 1910s. There, she introduced women's apparel to her offerings and transformed the stately mansion into one of America's most exquisite fashion destinations.
Hoyt swiftly established herself as a leading American designer of gowns and millinery. Her signature aesthetic, characterized by delicate pastels, shimmering rhinestone embellishments, and distinctive handkerchief hems, underscored her unwavering commitment to meticulous craftsmanship. For nearly two decades, she catered to an exclusive clientele across major American cities, solidifying her legacy in the world of high fashion.
Very stylized Art Nouveau illustration includes many photographs taken by Sheldon himself of the model.
Explore related art collections: $5,000 - $20,000 / Black & White / Women as Subjects / Portraits / Magazine Stories / 1920s / Fashion
See all original artwork by Charles Sheldon
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Charles Sheldon was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1894.
He spent most of his life in Springfield. In high school, he contributed to the artwork in the yearbook.
Sheldon studied at the Arts Students League. He then studied under Alphonse Mucha in Paris. He started working for Ladies Home Journal doing artwork of hats, gloves and fashion work.
Sheldon moved into advertising doing creative advertising for clients such as, Fiberloid hair brushes, Fox Shoe Company, La Vogue lingerie and Gainsbourough. The ads had many stars features such a Zigfeld Follies. By 1921, Sheldon was working for high fashion companies.
In 1924 and 1925, Sheldon created cover art for the Christmas issue of Colliers and a Halloween issue cover for Saturday Evening Post. By the late 1930's, magazines started to moving towards photography for their covers. However, Sheldon continued to produce his his delicate, dreamy, pastel portraits for the Breck Shampoo Company.
Sheldon retired in the late 1950's. In 1960, he died at his home is Springfield. When his home was torn down in 1978, a hidden room was found full of "artwork by his contemporary illustrators such as J.C. Leyendecker, Howard Chandler Christy, Maxfield Parrish, and Charles Dana Gibson".
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